The present invention relates to a sensor within a vehicle tire, and more particularly to a mounting assembly for a pressure sensor within a vehicle tire.
Many vehicles have a multiple of tires which may deflate. Drivers of such vehicles may have difficulty detecting that a tire has a lower than desired pressure. Other vehicles include tire inflation systems in which the pressure within the tires is commonly displayed to the driver. Commonly, tire pressure sensors are incorporated into such vehicles.
One tire pressure sensor arrangement provides for mounting a sensor adjacent a tire valve stem. The sensor is mounted within the tire while the valve stem extends therefrom to the tire exterior. The valve stem may also be used as an antenna for the sensor.
Disadvantageously, the known sensor arrangement is difficult to adapt to multiple vehicle wheels as the tire stem typically exits the wheel rim at different angles. A particular sensor arrangement must therefore be matched to each wheel assembly. The sensor arrangement must also be disassembled whenever a new tire is mounted to the wheel rim which may increase the likelihood of sensor damage. Moreover, as the tire stem operates as an antenna, it must be manufactured of a metallic material which increases cost and is more susceptible to damage than conventional non-metallic stems.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an inexpensive and robust mounting arrangement for a tire pressure sensor arrangement.
The vehicle wheel assembly according to the present invention provides a sensor assembly mounted about the inner diameter of a vehicle wheel rim. The sensor assembly includes a pressure sensor and a counterweight mounted to a band. The band is of a length to extend around the inner diameter of the wheel rim such that the pressure sensor is mounted 180 degrees opposite the counterweight when installed around the inner diameter. The sensor and the counterweight thereby minimally effects the balance of the vehicle wheel assembly.
The band includes a male end which fits into a female end in a zip-tie like manner. Such a locking arrangement is particularly advantageous in a manufacturing environment in which inner diameters may vary from rim to rim. An antenna is mounted along the length of the band up to a length equal to the rim inner diameter such that heretofore transmission/reception problems are essentially eliminated.
The present invention therefore provides an inexpensive and robust mounting arrangement for a tire pressure sensor arrangement.